NFL fans arrive for the 2025 NFL Draft on April 24, 2025 outside of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. ("The Big Dog" Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books.

It felt like the entire city of Green Bay was outside of Lambeau Field for the occasion. Seriously, a town with the population of around 107,000 people histed a draft that hit maximum capacity north of 125,000 people. Titletown brought it, and it was awesome.

As someone who was in the media room I was boots on the ground for the occasion. And of course, I have thoughts. In fact, I have five thoughts.

Here are my five thoughts from Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The loudest reactions in the media room were…

The media room in Green Bay, for the most part, was fairly quiet. Hundreds of people like me were locked in on the events which were unfolding.

But there were a few moments which made the room react.

The loudest, by far, was the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting Oregon defensive tackle over Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Second was the selection of Jaxson Dart by the New York Giants, who traded up with the Houston Texans to secure him.

Bottom line ​​– Sanders’ free fall into Day 2 was the biggest surprise. There was so much hype around him. Now he has to wait until Friday, and possibly Saturday, before he figures out where he’s playing next season.

Two teams loaded up to draft quarterback in 2026

It’s no secret that the 2025 class wasn’t strong at quarterback. Miami’s Cam Ward went No. 1, and the Giants selected Jaxson Dart at No. 25. That was it.

Next year’s class appears to be better suited for a signal caller. Two teams added ammunition to potentially trade up to select one of them next season.

The obvious one is Cleveland, who now owns Jacksonville’s first rounder in 2026. The Browns added Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham in the first round after trading down three spots. A win-win in reality.

The second is the Los Angeles Rams, who somehow landed Atlanta’s first-round pick next season. The Falcons walked away with James Pearce Jr. over Jihaad Campbell, a move that made me scratch my head.

The Falcons paid a steep price. The Rams are now in a prime position to secure the successor to Matthew Stafford in 2026. 

Oh boy.

Jacksonville made a splash, and I loved it

There were two rumors on my drive down — Jacksonville wanted to make a splash, and something big was about to happen inside the top-10. In the end both rumors turned out to be true.

The Jaguars coughed up a decent price tag, including next year’s first rounder like I mentioned earlier, to secure Travis Hunter.

And honestly, Hunter is worth it.

The Jaguars need playmakers on the perimeter both on offense and defense. Hunter fills both those holes. He and Tyson Campbell will be effective at cornerback. On offense Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis remain Trevor Lawrence’s top two receiving options for now. Hunter can slide in when needed on offense.

I never bought the rumor that Jacksonville wanted Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Sure, Travis Etienne hasn’t been a world beater like we thought he would be, but were also talking about a) a running back that has deep chemistry with Lawrence since their days at Clemson and b) we’re talking about the deepest running back class in the last 30 years (I will not shut up about this, try me). 

The Jaguars made a statement. And with Houston’s shaky offensive line, the Indianapolis Colts being a small mess and the Titans still needing a lot of work the Jaguars have, at the very least, a realistic opportunity at a Wild Card spot, if not the AFC South.

Packers pull the trigger on a receiver

I asked NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah if the Packers were going to actually select a receiver in the draft this season.

“I don’t think they do it,” Jeremiah told me on Wednesday afternoon between sections 112 and 114 of Lambeau Field. “I mean, it would be hilarious if, after all these years, they waited till the draft came to Green Bay to take one.”

In all honesty, I did chuckle when the Packers, for the first time since 2002, selected a wide receiver in the first round. And of all receivers, it was Matthew Golden from Texas. 

With the Packers leading the NFL in drops, Romeo Doubs coming up on a contract year and Christian Watson tearing his ACL in a Week 18 loss to the Chicago Bears (more on them in a bit) this was the year for the Packers to finally, and I mean (in the voice of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) FINALLY pull the trigger on a receiver.

The Packers have an absolute burner of a deep threat which they’ve lacked for a while. This dude has the chance to be something special.

The Bears stand pat, and it’s for the best

In my final mock draft I called for the Bears to trade with Jacksonville to select Jeanty. League experts firmly believed the Bears needed to add an offensive lineman, an assessment I firmly disagreed with.

Well, the Jaguars did trade out of No. 5, just in the wrong direction. 

And at No. 10 the Bears selected Michigan tight end Colston Loveland, a player Jeremiah told me was going to surge up draft boards. Loveland and Kmet now give new head coach Ben Johnson two legitimate tight ends to go with two emerging offensive tackles, a much improved interior offensive line and a 1-2 receiving duo of Rome Odunze and DJ Moore for quarterback Caleb Williams.

And with picks 39 and 41 in their back pocket on Friday the Bears now have the opportunity to pick whoever they want from a deep pool of talent at running back and defensive end.

TreyVon Henderson in the backfield rotation with DeAndre Swift and the choice of Nic Scourton, Jack Sawyer and Landon Jackson to go opposite of Montez Sweat puts Chicago in a great position.

… One more? Yeah, one more, why not.

Bills Mafia is about to fall in love with Maxwell Hairston

I made it apparent how high I was on Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston. The dude is a freak athlete, and an even better human being. 

One person hugged every player in the green room that was drafted on Thursday. It was Hairston, who had photos of his family members stitched on the inside of his suit jacket.

He’s a tough, physical man-to-man corner that can make up a lot of ground and can play a deep outer third in Cover 3. 

This is also someone who genuinely wants to make his community a better place. This is a guy who has a heart larger than his vertical jump, which was 39.5 inches.

The Bills selected Keon Coleman with their first pick last year. A productive player with an amazing personality to help plug the hole at receiver.

Buffalo struck gold again with Hairston, who fills a hole at cornerback while also bringing in a great personality.

“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg is a multi-time award-winning sports writer and photographer who proudly serves as sports editor for The Daily Press (Escanaba). He can be reached at mvosburg@dailypress.net. Follow him on Instagram (@themantheycallmitch) and on X (@realmitchvburg).